No matter what actions the government takes on racial remarks by
a few youngsters, government must not forget to government the
country fairly and objectively.
When it is able to show to the people that it understands the
people's wishes and aspirations then it does not need to worry so
much about the behavior of the people. The people will behave and
accept leadership and conduct themselves. The key issue is: does
the government understand all these and how to achieve the nation
building goals and objectives.
Very often, we have heard our leaders talking about the importance
of leaderships, talents, or ideas in running a business or
country.
What is leadership or talent ? Is it eloquence, or good-looking
presentation of concepts or ideas.
It would appear that traditional leadership is conceptual employing
assumptions like risk of welfarism or about the need for
disciplining of human beings and control over the people in order
to create change.
Will such conceptual assumptions really lead to efficiency,
competitiveness, excellence, reliability, justice, empathy with the
poor and needy, the underdogs or socially handicapped for the
greater social and economic wellbeing of all ?
How will concepts and assumptions lead to certain course of action
to empower the people to behave, work together for common good or
greater efficiency and values or harnessing technologies,
technological start-ups and economic growth.
While leadership might of the conceptual kind might have helped in
the past in achieving independence has the government forgotten and
neglected key factors such as people's aspirations, and their daily
needs, or facilitating development of their skills or broad-based
practical education and widespread application of technology and
knowledge.
In the fast-paced technological age of internet and instant
telecommunication, the tasks of the government is to facilitate the
educated workforce to develop their skills and knowledge to be
creative, entrepreneurial and proactive, and seize opportunities at
practical applications of knowledge by all in every field.
Conceptual policies and assumptions have failed to create the
needed value-adding economy still being mired in leaders'
conceptual complexities and uncertainties. There has been a general
neglect of broad-based entrepreneurial knowledge applications, mass
participation and empowerment.
The conceptual approach of govenrment has caused the slow down of
the economy and unhappiness of the people. As a result, govenrment
has to extend controls and regulations, and increasing the taxing
and recovering of costs to the full market values thereby causing
hardship.
Today's technology-age leadership should consist of the following
criteria:-
(1) Translate goals and objectives and policies into implementation
processes to empower all workers to maximize their knowledge
applications, to create competitiveness, technology start-ups and
jobs.
(2) Collective leadership and good corporate governance to avoid
self-centred narrow top-down conceptual management that stifle mass
participation in knowledge application, implementation of ideas and
growth.
The only way for Singaporeans to level up for themselves in skills
that will value-add their competitiveness and stop listening to
past conceptual leadership and talents. If they are in business,
they should strive to get their people and workers to become true
partners and involve them in decision making and working towards
results as a team.
Leaders must set themselves as good examples of servants of people
and shareholders and be prepared to accept criticism and be
proactive and efficient to oversee tasks with coordination and
practical knowledge.
Leaders should not be so arrogant and aloof and divide themselves
from people as elites who are entitled to all the rewards but good
example in applying practical knowledge at every level.
In this way they can persuade people to leverage their individual
strengths and overcome our constraints so that collectively people
will realize technologicial start-ups and value-add economic
competitiveness which currently could only be talked about.
Only when leaders can effectively translate all ideas and concepts
into actions and nurture entrepreneurs and technological start-ups
and create jobs will the economy upgrade and become more
competitive.
No matter how brilliant, top-down leadership is too narrow in scope
and radar range to cover the whole spheres of social culture and
economic exchanges and leveling up of competitiveness. Not only
that, it encourages self-interests and controls which are not
consonent with the majoirity's vibrancy and growth.
Process management can be set up to lay the foundation for people
to work collectively with coordination and application of knowledge
at all level to attain results on their own without hindrances from
all the media hype, justfications and look-good presentations and
defensiveness.
